"I am not a liberator. Liberators do not exist. The people liberate themselves." - Ernesto "Che" Guevara

Monday, 4 November 2013

SNC: Proposal To Decentralise Nigeria into 'Confederating Unions' by YORUBA NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

MEMORANDUM

TO THE

PRESIDENTIAL CONSTITUTION CONFERENCE ADVISORY COMMITTEE

PREPARED AND SUBMITTED

BY

THE YORUBA NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Friday, 1st November
2013

PREAMBLE:

WHEREAS
the Nigerian nation-state continues to stand on a very faulty and weak
constitutional foundation which invariably undergirds its anomic and
dysfunctional social institutions, cultures and personality types that are
systematically failing to deliver on the promise of the dividends of democracy,
nation-building, growth and development; but continues to lurch from one crisis
to another;

AND
WHEREAS this very faulty and weak constitutional foundation of the country
continues, since the advent of external and internal colonialism, to exist
because it has never clearly derived its source of authority directly from the people
acting in a constituent assembly (or national sovereign conference) and asking
adult citizens to consent (or not) on the conference outcomes in a referendum;

AND
WHEREAS a legitimate constitution is
not only the foundation of the state, with roots anchored in the people, it is
also a medium for the people in a Convention, (as in the case of the American
people at the Philadelphia Convention in 1787), a Constituent Assembly or a
Sovereign National Conference, to define and affirm their aspirations to become
a nation, to define and affirm the purposes, aims and objectives of the nation-state
they, by the constitution, are creating, and the direction they desire it (the
nation-state) to go which is not a mere matter of formal or verbal formulation
by a legal draftsman but rather an authentic embodiment of the true feelings
and sentiments of the people, commanding wide acceptance by the generality of
them;

AND
WHEREAS mimicking the assertion in
the preamble to the Constitutions of the United States and other countries,
where the constitution is in fact made by the people, the preamble to the 1979
and 1999 Nigerian Constitutions declares in a palpable lie: “We the People of the Federal Republic of Nigeria…do
hereby make, enact and give to ourselves the following Constitution” - which
is an expensive and intolerable lie and a grievous insult to invoke the name
and authority of the people in a Federal Military Government Decreed document
in the making of which they had no hand at all;

AND
WHEREAS the peoples of Nigeria are being governed in accordance with the unremedied
lie and its ruinous overpowering concentration of powers, functions and
resources in a central government that promotes policies of fragmentation,
marginalization and alienation of large majority of the Nigerian stakeholders as
critical provisions of the Military Decreed Constitution
of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 continue to make nonsense of the
principles (a) of inclusion and participation of Nigeria’s principal
stakeholders; (b) of federalism or unity-in-diversity (or diversity-in-unity);
(c) of secularism (or separation of State and Religion); and (c) of
republicanism and monarchy;

AND
WHEREAS following elections to the Office of President, Vice President and to
the Senate and House of Representatives for the Federation and to the Offices
of Governor, Deputy Governor and House of Assembly for each of the current 36
States comprising the Nigerian Federation, there developed a general clamour by
ethnic groups, civil society groups and individuals comprised in this Nation-state
for convening a Conference of the Nationalities and the establishment of an
Independent National Constitution Conference with full powers of lawsthat will enable the ethnic Nationality
groups comprised in this Nigeria country have the golden opportunity to
exercise their inherent right to determine democratically for themselves the
new Federal and Regional Constitutions by which they wish to be governed in one
united Nigeria as their supreme laws ofthe land binding on all organs of government and on all authorities and
individuals in the Nigerian federation;

AND
WHEREAS the President of the current Federal Republic of Nigeria considers it
necessary and expedient for the peace, order and good government of Nigeria to
make provisions through the Presidential Advisory Committee to facilitate the processes
and procedures for the convening of the aforesaid Conference;

NOW, THEREFORE, having
resolved to welcome the institution of a Presidential Advisory Committee on a
national conference/dialogue, as a first step towards determining basic
questions that shall guide the next phase of an Independent Nigerian Nationalities
Constitutional Conference in the current Nigerian federation, WE OF THE YORUBA NATIONAL ASSEMBLY,
acting for and on behalf of the Yoruba Nation, are of the strong opinion that
time and resources should be spent on creating proper procedure to make a valid
and legitimate Constitution because it is the procedure of making a
Constitution that legitimizes it, not the content, instead of always working to
amend all extant illegitimate and disputed Nigerian Constitutions that have
undergirded the Nigerian anomie and dysfunctional society; and hereby
respectfully submit hereunder our views and positions in the following desideratum
or unassailable factors as our ‘Memorandum’ on each of the terms of reference
given to your Advisory Committee by President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan as
follows:

1.TO CONSULT EXPEDITIOUSLY WITH ALL RELEVANT STAKEHOLDERS WITH A VIEW
TO DRAWING UP A FEASIBLE AGENDA FOR THE PROPOSED NATIONAL CONSTITUTIONAL CONFERENCE.

We make bold to reiterate that
it is self-evident that, in a democracy, it is NOT government that gives a
nation-state a Constitution rather it is a Constitution that gives a nation-state
a government so much so that a valid Constitution is NEVER enacted into Law but
usually endorsed, through a binding referendum or a set of referenda, as the
organic will of a people as recommended by their independent constitutional
conference representatives.

We, therefore, recognize and
insist on the fact that the primary landlords who are therefore the ONLY
sovereign principal stakeholders of the Nigeria
nation-state and to whom all other authorities in governance are subordinate agents are the mono- and multi-linguistic nationalities: who must
be consulted and assisted by the Presidential advisory Committee on national
conference/dialogue to meet to discuss the reasons of what
are the agenda and methodology for
constituting their Union so as to ensure that each and every one of them shall
develop and determine the appropriate agenda for the Union deliberations and method
of nominating and selecting and appointing its own national linguistic delegates
in such manner(s) as to prevent unnecessary and unwholesome interventions of
parochial and partisan rivalries and ‘foreign’ beneficial interests.

Hence, we humbly
suggest the adoption of the year 2006 proposal by the PRO-NATIONAL CONFERENCE
ORGANIZATIONS (PRONACO) of twelve (12) mono-ethnic and six (6) multi-ethnic
Nationality categories – making a grand total of eighteen (18) Nationality
Regions (See Schedule one under Appendix One below on pages 19 - 24); OR, in
the alternative, six (6) Administrative Zones OR their Constituent thirty-six
(36) States (See Schedule two under Appendix One below on pages 25 - 66)- as the ones that best represent all the relevant
principal stakeholders in the Nigerian project whose views must drive the contents
of discussions and decisions/agreements on their agreed Conference Agenda.

With
regards to the subjects or contents for the conference AGENDA, which must be recommended to
the first Plenary Session of the Conference
for deliberation and adoption, we accept the views of the National Consensus
Group (a civil society organisation) that “the Constituent Assemblies formed to
make past Constitutions can guide us. But we can even accelerate the process
because there is no magic in terms of the contents of a people’s Constitution for the Nigerian
federation that cannot be derived from previous Constitutions. Despite the
intense arguments on the contents of
the Constitution, Constitution is validated by the procedure of making it not
the content. Thus a Constitution that is
made through the right process, though appearing unreasonable in content, is a
valid Constitution nonetheless because a people, in making their Constitution,
can decide how they want to be governed for good or for bad”. We, therefore, offer
the suggestions exhibited under Appendix Two (on pages 27 - 41) of this
Memorandum which, judging by the tortured and turbulent corruption-laden ‘presidential’ form of political history of Nigeria,
are necessary and sufficient bases for providing adequate ‘parliamentary’ form of answers to the enduring
Nigerian national question of how the peoples of our multi-ethnic country can
begin, for the first time since the loss of independence and the advent of
pervasive external and internal colonialism, live in unity, peace and progress.

2.TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS TO GOVERNMENT ON STRUCTURE AND MODALITIES
FOR THE PROPOSED CONFERENCE

(i)With respect to the structure of the conference, we
advise as follows:

(a) The conference shall be structured on
the basis of equal representation of
members from each of the Mono- and Multi-linguistic nationality Regions/Zones/States
indicated earlier under your first term of reference.

(c) Each Mono- and Multi-linguistic nationality
Region/Zone/State representation must be allowed to bring its own group of
advisers (that may indeed include professionals, trade unions, students unions,
market women etc) who shall have no voice and vote at the Conference but shall
be allowed to attend the Conference for the purpose of collecting data on the
basis of which to advise their representatives on points raised at the Conference,
etc.

(d) Each Mono- and Multi-linguistic nationality
Region/Zone/State must bring an Agenda which shall indicate, inter alia, the system of government it wishes to establish, including
the territorial structure of the Region/Zone/State, the structure of powers and
relationships, financial relations, as well as issues of justice to ensure,
among other things, that the critical resources and high offices in the Federal
and Regional/Zonal/State Governments are not monopolized by “a few ethnic or
other sectional groups”- stating
especially in their lists of preferred Exclusive
(only federal), Concurrent (Federal and Regional),
and Residual (only Regional) powers, functions,
and resources

(e) Nomination andselection to the National Constitution Conference shall be on
non-partisan basis; meaning those known political parties and other sectarian
groups shall not take part in the nomination and selection of Conference
Delegates.

(ii) In terms of
modalities or the procedural rules, groundnorms for deliberations, conference
bulletins and other modalities determined by the Conference Commission are,
again, expected to be presented andrecommended to the first Plenary Session of the Conference for discussion and adoption
at the conference opening session on Day One. In particular, we submit as
follows:

(a) The proceedings of the National
Constitution Conference shall be conducted in accordance with the Standing
Orders of the House of Representatives with such modifications (including the
requirement that all the delegates from each Region shall vote in a block of
one or, in other words, that each Region’s/Zonal’s/State’s votes on any and all
issues shall always count as one)as
may be approved by at least two-third majority of the Regions’s/Zonal’s/State’s
Conference Delegates and, subject to such modifications, the Standing Orders
shall be deemed to be the Standing Orders of the National Constitution Conference.

(b) Attendance at the National Constitution
Conference by delegates from the Federating Units shall be mandatory; however,
the quorum for the purpose of transacting any business other than adjournment
shall not be less than two-thirds of the entire membership. Provided that no
proceedings of the National Constitution Conference shall be rendered invalid
under this section unless objection is raised by a member present, other than
the person presiding, that there are fewer members present than the prescribed
quorum. In case of any boycott of the National Constitution Conference by a
section or part thereof of the Nigeria country before or during the pendency of
the Conference, quorum shall be constituted by two-thirds of the members then present
and diligently participating in the Conference; and any or those boycotting the
Conference shall be regarded as having exercised its or their Nationality or
peoples’ right to self-determination, including opting to secede from or cease
to be a part of the Nigerian federation.

(c) Conference decisions on federal powers,
functions, and resources allocation formula shall be by consensus, and the
person presiding at a meeting of the National Constitution Conference shall use
his best endeavour to see that decisions are made by consensus among those
present and forming a quorum at the meeting. Upon failure to arrive at a
consensus, any region or group of them that is involved in such disagreement shall
have the freedom to exercise its or their Nationality or peoples’ right to
self-determination, including opting to secede from or cease to be a part of
the Nigerian federation. The democratic principle behind this suggested
Conference decision-making modality is, regardless of size, the equality and
autonomy of the Regions/Zones/States and the right of each of them to be
protected from any form of imposition and domination by other Regions/Zones/States
in a matter of Fundamental Rights of the Federating Units and their citizens.

3.TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS TO GOVERNMENT ON HOW REPRESENTATION OF
VARIOUS INTEEREST GROUPS AT THE CONFERENCE WILL BE DETERMINED

In
relation to representation at the National Constitutional Conference, we advise
as follows:

(i)
By way of emphasis and as indicated earlier, nomination and Selection to the
National Constitutional Conference shall be on non-partisan basis, meaning that
known political parties and other sectarian groups shall not take part in the nomination
and selection of Conference Delegates.

(ii)
Delegates to the National Constitution Conference shall be drawn through nomination
and selection from either each of the 18 Mono-
and Multi- nationality Regions on the basis of 20
delegates from each of them (making a total of 360);
OR, in the alternative, from each of the 6 Administrative Zones on the basis of 54 delegates from each of
them (making a total of 324);
OR, still, from each of the 3
senatorial districts in each of the 36 States of the federation on the basis of 3 delegate per district
(making a total of 324)
nominated and selectedfrom identifiable
linguistic nationalities indigenous to the Region/Zone/State, regardless of
delegates’ other acquired professional and/or social identities.

(iii)
A person shall be eligible for nomination and selection as a delegate to the
National Constitution Conference if he or she is a citizen of Nigeria and is
not less than 18 years of age.

(iv)
Any vacancy occurring among the delegates to the National Constitution
Conference shall be filled by a replacement from the Region concerned.

(v)
The following persons shall not be eligible for nomination and selection as
delegates to the National Constitution Conference if:

(1)
He is of unsound mind; OR

(2) He is bankrupt or makes a
composition with his creditors; OR

(3)
He is convicted of a felony, or any offence involving dishonesty; OR

(4) He
is found guilty of serious misconduct in relation to his/her public duties; OR

(5) He is a member of the Armed Forces or the
Nigerian Police Service, or a member of the public service of the federation or
of a state/local government unless he/she has resigned his/her office not less
than 30 days before his/her nomination and selection.

4.TO ADVISE ON A TIMEFRAME FOR THE CONFERENCE

On timeline, we advise as
follows:

(i)The
conference shall complete its assignment within
nine months from the date of its inauguration by the President of the
Nigeria Federation.

(ii)The
Conference shall ensure, through its provisions, that a new constitution
ratified ONLY on a Regional referenda shall be gazetted and come into full
force and effect by October 1, 2014 to, among other worthy considerations,
allow for the timely conduct of the 2015 General Elections on the basis of its
overall provisions. We give primacy and preference to the separate nationality
Regional/Zonal/State Referendum because, to all intents and purposes, the
Nigeria country does not, at any time, have any reliable and valid census data
to guarantee an acceptable one-country-wide Referendum for all the
Nationalities. As stated earlier, every effort must be made to protect every
Nationality against domination and oppression by the apparent numerical weight
of other(s) in extant population of registered voters. In this regard, if there
is a “NO” vote from a Region, such shall be taken as a necessary and sufficient
indication of its declared intention to achieve autonomy or independence for
its or their citizens.

Most importantly, we would like to advise that, within their
respective jurisdictions, both the Federal and State governments should be
prepared to enact appropriate laws toprorogue,if necessitated by time
constraints,both
their executive and legislative arms of government so as to enable all the
existing three tiers of government continue in office and more or less function
as TRANSITIONAL/INTERIM FEDERAL/STATE
GOVERNMENTS, by holding and performing their respective Legislative and
Executive duties under the existing 1999 military decreed Constitution (as
amended) until both the new Federal and Regional/State/Zonal democratic
Constitutions are adopted and their stipulated or mandated elections are held;
and the legitimate results of those elections shall be the only bases upon
which all the new and legitimate respective governments shall be constituted in
accordance with the dictates of these new Federal and Regional Constitutions.

NOTE:
In general, therefore, we in The Yoruba National Assembly strongly hold the
pragmatic view that if we need some more time to actualize each and every stage
of our proposals in order to get the constitution-making processes through to
success, it is infinitely safer and better for all principal parties and other
stakeholders to work out the modalities for such an extension of time. It is
better late than never to reinvent and truly federalize our constitutional
arrangements to properly and adequately enable present and future generations
cater for their own welfare, stability, unity, growth and development.

5.TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS ON LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE CONFERENCE

On
legal framework for the conference, we advise as follows:

(i)That
there shall be TWO Bills from the Government to do the following:

(a)The
First Bill to deal with the enactment of an Act to make provision for the
establishment of an Independent Constitution Conference
Commission (otherwise referred to and known as “The Constitution
Conference Commission”) with full powers of laws to drive the democratic
processes of the production of the Nigeria Federal and Regional Constitutions
and restructure them for connected purposes.It is quite instructive to note that your
current Presidential Constitution Advisory Committee is not a different type of
‘animal’ from this Independent Constitution Conference Commission except only
in regard to the fact that your Committee has not yet been promulgated into Law
that may give it more powers, functions and resources!

This task should be
calendarized to take not more than one month – since the country can still
boast of independent men and women of undoubted knowledge and high moral
integrity in every ethnic Region/Zone/State of the country who can be trusted
by the current Federal and State Governments as their legal inheritors of their
assumed legislative sovereignty by unreservedly delegating to them, through
appropriate amendments of relevant Sections of the current 1999 Federal
Constitution (as amended) - especially Sections Eight and Nine - their very
onerous and sensitive responsibilities as currently enshrined under those two
Sections. In view of the making of a law by the National Assembly to enable the
peoples of Nigeria to, for the first time ever, give to themselves a
Constitution, the importance of the National Assembly has at any rate been
highlighted and taken care of in the constitutional process through their
taking charge of this enabling law
governing the constitution-making processes.

Since the Legislature can
legitimately make law, then it means it can legally make law [such as a
pragmatic law amending Sections 8 and 9 of the 1999 constitution] to enable the
people give to themselves a valid constitution.The Legislature can determine the content of such law (within its right
to make law), the perimeters and terms of such law.The Legislature can call for a public hearing
to fashion out such law as a vital beginning of legitimate, valid and lawful
Constitution making process. (See Appendix Three on pages 42 - 60 below).

NOTE:By and through this first Constitution
enabling Bill, the debates bedeviling the futile disputes as to who has the
custodial or sovereign power and authority to frame or make the original Nigerian Constitution
and later amend the extant
Constitutions would have been tactically navigated and diplomatically avoided
and put to final and lasting rest in every stakeholders’ beneficial interests.
As a ‘win-win’ device, it is virtually the legislative equivalent of the now
prudent and familiar “doctrine of necessity” ably invoked by the 6th Federal
Legislative Assembly to resolve contentious grey areas of the 1999 Constitution
(as amended) concerning modes of succession during the unfortunate and untimely
death of President Musa Yar’Adua in the Year 2011.

Due to the technical legal nature of this Bill and for ease of
reference, we have decided to provide your Presidential Constitution Advisory
Committee with a template of topics as authentic samples that the Bill must
cover as indicated hereunder (page 51) as Appendix Three.

(b)The Second Bill to deal with the
enactment of an Act to make provision for convening an Independent
Nationalities Constitutional Conference (otherwise referred to and known
as “The National Conference”)of the people of
Nigeria with full powers of territoriality and for purposes of discussing and
deciding any and all issues and matters affectingthem and preparing a
constitution and matters ancillary thereto for consideration and adoption by
the peoples of Nigeria at each Regional/Zonal/State referendum.

This task should be calendarized
to take not more than one month.

Due to the technical legal nature of this Bill and for ease of reference,
we have also decided to provide your Presidential Advisory Committee with a
template of topics as authentic samples that the Bill must cover as indicated
hereunder (pages 60 - 70) as Appendix Four.

6.TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR LEGAL PROCEDURES AND OPTIONS FOR
INTEGRATING DECISIONS AND OUTCOMES OF THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE INTO THE
CONSTITUTION

With respect to legal procedures
for integrating decisions and outcomes of the National Conference into the
constitution, we advise as follows:

(i)A
referendum shall be held at each Regional/Zonal/State level to determine the
wishes of eligible Nigerian registered voters in a “YES” or “NO” vote on the draft
Federal and Regional/Zonal/State constitutions put before the citizens by the
National Conference Commission and Independent National Electoral Commission
acting on behalf of the National Conference.

(ii)Approval
or disapproval of the Draft Constitutions by each Regional/Zonal/State level shall
be determined by a simple majority of “YES” or “NO” votes. A majority of “YES” or “NO” votes for the purpose of the
referenda shall mean a simple majority of votes cast at the Regional/Zonal/State
level with not less than two-third of votes of total eligible voters and voting
in each Region or Zone or State – whichever “federating unit” is ultimately adopted
by the National Conference Delegates.

7.ADVISE THE GOVERNMENT ON ANY OTHER MATTERS THAT MAY BE RELATED OR
INCIDENTAL TO THE CONFERENCE

Through Public Enlightenment,
we strongly advise that all stakeholders in the Nigerian federation, including
especially the Federal and State Governments as well as civil society groups,
shall embark on systematic mass public education and mobilization of citizens
to promote the laudable goals and objectives of the National Conference as
follows:

(i)The public education programme should involve use of public and
private media structures, from newspapers to radio/ television and the social
media. This should explain the importance of enhancing Nigeria’s unity through
frank discussions on how to create a federal constitution that citizens of all
linguistic nationalities can own and feel comfortable with, as distinct from
the current constitution that has been a source of tension among nationalities
since it was decreed into existence by military rulers in 1999. Mass public
education is crucial to stem any misunderstanding or distortion of the vision
and thinking behind doing what several countries across continents do
regularly: re-creating and re-focusing their countries for better governance
and a more peaceful environment for faster and sustainable growth and development.

(ii)The public mobilization programme should involve the appointment and use of appropriate numbers of Regional/Zonal/State
facilitators in each and every one of the 774 local governments to, again, explain
the importance of enhancing Nigeria’s unity through frank discussions on how to
create a federal constitution that citizens of all linguistic nationalities can
own and feel comfortable with, as distinct from the current constitution that
has been a source of tension among nationalities since it was decreed into
existence by military rulers in 1999. Mass public mobilization is crucial to
stem any misunderstanding or distortion of the vision and thinking behind doing
what several countries across continents do regularly: re-creating and
re-focusing their countries for better governance and a more peaceful
environment for faster and sustainable growth and development.

Finally
and for the avoidance of doubt, the Yoruba National Assembly would like to use
this golden opportunity to reiterate the long-standing position of the Yoruba
people that the different and differing nationalities in the Nigerian nations-state
must collectively grab this rare chance to really design a “devolved” process
and product of constitution-making by making the Nationalities the focal points
of organization such that those currently at the helm of our country’s
political affairs will be seen and trusted as implementing the avowed wishes of
the people.

We strongly support the
Movement for National Reformation warning “against the danger of turning the
urgent and the all important need for an authentic national conference into a
make-shift ‘political summit’ designed to satisfy the short-time needs for the
2015 presidential elections.The country
must not forget to remember that substitute summits in the past became failed
missions. An authentic national conference should be a conference of the
nationalities of Nigeria with advisory inputs by national interest groups”.

Also like the National
Consensus Group, “we note, however, that we cannot run away from the agitations
of our people on the imperfect state of the Nigerian nation- state.Moreover, we note that the legitimacy,
authenticity and internal value of the present 1999 Constitution (as amended)
is not without some inherent problems about its source and contents.If the present government can make a
Constitution free from the challenge of legitimacy for Nigeria, the President
will be making the greatest contribution to the science of government. In the
hallowed interests of the citizens of Nigeria, it is not hard to do so; what it
needs is the will for it”.

Prayerfully, may the Supreme
Being guide and guard each and every one of you in this critically important
assigned duty to provide, once and for all time(?), a Road-Map to a resounding
success of the Nigeria Federation of our dream.

APPENDIX ONE:

Schedule
One: Proposed
18 Territorial Regions of the Federation of Nigeria and Constituent
Nationalities of the Regions and Map.

PROPOSED BY PRO-NATIONAL CONFERENCE
ORGANIZATIONS (PRONACO):

“Ethnographically
speaking, there are twelve (12) Mono-Nationality Regions (with varying
sub-nationalities) and six (6) Multi-Nationality Regions (also with varying
sub-nationalities) in Nigeria; and each Region shall have, for a true federal
system to exist, its own internal federal constitution. Therefore, the Federal
Union of Nigeria (FUN) shall be a Federation of Constituent Nationality
Constitutions, which, we strongly suggest, shall
be grouped as follows: -

The above suggestions are also virtually the
same proposal contained in the First Schedule (Parts One and Two) of the Draft
People’s Constitution for the Federal Republic of Nigeria submitted by The
People’s National Conference in August 2006.

According
to Movement for National Reformation, “The underlying principle of the
suggested structure is that all the Nationalities, regardless of size, are
autonomous federating units of equal value to the whole. In this spirit, the
divide between the Nationalities suggested to be regions in their own right and
those which are suggested should cooperate to form a Region, is to be clearly
established by nothing more than pragmatism, having regard to the tasks,
responsibilities and resources expected of a Region.

“A good Constitution must be designed to cope
with the dynamics of human relationships. It must have in-built shock
absorbers, since the aspirations of nationalities are not static. To guard
against our past experience of lurching from one constitutional crisis to
another, the design of the new Constitution must be flexible enough to
accommodate new aspirations of Nationalities and Regions without upsetting the
balance of the whole structure and prospects for stability.

“In the course of time, Nationalities starting
out as parts of a Region may wish to be Regions in their own right, having
become capable of so qualifying. The Constitution must allow for such
development. We have, therefore, included amongst the items suggested as likely
agenda for both the Federal and Regional levels of constitution-making the
topic concerning the criteria for the creation or recognition of a Region” –
such that the appropriate and acceptable federating
units are thosewhose indigenes
and settlers are culturally homogeneous; geographically contiguous; humanly and
materially resourceful; and are ready and willing to demonstrate -- through an
INEC conducted referendum or plebiscite if, in each case, necessitated by
border area ethno-centric demands, of simple majority of the agitators -- their
willingness to cohabit.

PRONACO ETHNIC REGIONAL MAP OF
NIGERIA

NIGERIA’S NATIONALITY LINGUISTIC MAP

Schedule 2:THE SIX ZONES AND CONSTITUENT
36 STATES OF NIGERIA

ZONE

HEADQUARTERS

CONSTITUENT
STATES

(a)
NORTHCENTRAL

Jos

1.Kwara

2.Kogi

3.Plateau

4.Nasarawa

5.Benue

6.Niger

(b)
NORTH EAST

Maiduguri

1.Borno

2.Yobe

3.Bauchi

4.Gombe

5.Taraba

6.Adamawa

(c)
NORTH WEST

Kaduna

1.Sokoto

2.Zamfara

3.Kebbi

4.Kaduna

5.Katsina

6.Kano

7.Jigawa

(d)
SOUTH EAST

Enugu

1.Anambra

2.Enugu

3.Ebonyi

4.Imo

5.Abia

(e)
SOUTHSOUTH

Port-Harcourt

1.Edo

2.Delta

3.Rivers

4.Bayelsa

5.Cross River

6.Akwa Ibom

(f)
SOUTH WEST

Ibadan

1.Lagos

2.Ogun

3.Oyo

4.Osun

5.Ondo

6.Ekiti

MAP OF 36 STATES OF NIGERIA 2013

APPENDIX TWO

PROPOSED

AGENDA

FOR THE
INDEPENDENT NATIONALITIES CONSTITUTIONAL CONFERENCE

FOR THE
NIGERIAN FEDERATION

2013 - 2014

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

SECTION 1.
THE PREAMBLE

SECTION 2:
THE FEDERATION AND ITS TERRITORIES

1.Supremacy
of the Constitution

2.Nomenclature
of the Nation-state

3.The
Flag and Emblem of the Nation-state

4.The
National Anthem

5. The Nigerian
Territorial Federal jurisdiction

6. Regions/Zones/States of
the Federation (1st Schedule)

7. Tiers/Levels of
Government/Authourity

8. Provisions relating
to Regional/Zonal/State Constitutions

9. Federal and Regional/Zonal/State
Jurisdictions

10. Sovereignty of the
People and the Fundamental Objectives and DirectivePrinciples of State Policy

With due emphasis to
Section 7(73) immediately above, it must be noted that all the powers not
expressly delegated to the Federal Government by the Constitution, nor
prohibited by it to the Regional/Federating Governments are, therefore,
exclusively reserved to the Regional/Federating Governments which shall include
those stipulated under Section 10 (ten) immediately above but also not
necessarily limited to the followings:

146. Provide schooling and education

147.
Provide safety (fire departments)

148.Give
driver’s license

149.
Land Matters /approve zoning and land
use

SECTION 12: ELECTIONS INTO PUBLIC OFFICES.

158.
All Inspectors-General and Commissioners of Police

159.
Recall of Elected Officers

SECTION 13: ELECTIONS AND
ELECTORAL BODIES

160. Regulation
of Political Parties

161. Size
of Constituencies – House of Representatives and Regional Assemblies.

178.
Immunity versus Accountability of Elected and Appointed Public Officers.

179.
Power of Commissions to Regulate their Procedures

180.
Resignations from Public Office

181.
Re-appointment into Public Office

182.
Remuneration of Public Officers

183.
Subsequent Alteration of the Constitution

184. Interpretations

185. Citation of the Constitution

SECTION 17: TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS

186. Staff of Legislative Houses

187. Standing Orders

188. Special Provision in respect of first Election

189. System of Revenue Allocation

190. Debts

191. Existing Laws

192. Existing Institutions

193. Succession to property, rights, liabilities and Obligations

194. Appointment of Officers in Public Service

195. Appointment of Principal Representatives of Nigeria Abroad

SECTION 18: SCHEDULES

ØFirst Schedule

·Regional
Territories of the Nigerian Federation

·Nationalities
of the Regions

ØSecond Schedule

·Territories Comprising the
Regions

ØThird Schedule

·The Exclusive Legislative List

·The Concurrent List

ØFourth Schedule

·Federal Executive Bodies

ØFifth Schedule

ØOaths of Allegiance to duty and the country:

·Oath of Office of the Prime Minister

·Oath of Office of the Governor of a Region or
State

·Oath of Office of Deputy Prime Minister, Deputy
Premier or Governor, Minister, Commissioner or Secretary or Special
Adviser

·Oath of a Member of the National Parliament or
Assembly or of aHouse of
Assembly

·Judicial Oath.

NOTE:
The Yoruba Assembly would like to reiterate that, for the avoidance of doubt,
the above suggestions for the Agenda of the proposed National Conference are
predicated on the Parliamentary Form of Government which, obviously, is clearly
different and distinct from the Presidential type of Government. A supporter
and advocate of the ‘presidential’ form of government would, most assuredly,
offer alternative proposals.It is our
conviction that the conferees shall articulate and advance the overwhelming reasons
that place the advantages of the ‘parliamentary’ system of government over and
above the ‘presidential’ practice in any democracy anywhere in the world.Without much exercise of intellectual rigour,
we can also find ample and strong evidence and support of our position in
Nigeria’s checkered political history.

APPENDIXTHREE:

DRAFT OF

A BILL

FOR AN ACT TO MAKE PROVISION FOR THE
ESTABLISHMENT OF AN INDEPENDENT
CONSTITUTION CONFERENCE COMMISSION WITH FULL POWERS OF LAWS TO DRIVE THE
DEMOCRATIC PROCESSES OF THE PRODUCTION OF THE NIGERIA STATE AND FEDERAL
CONSTITUTIONS AND RESTRUCTURE THEM FOR CONNECTED PURPOSES.

Prepared
and Submitted

By

THE YORUBA NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

Preamble

1.Short Title

2.Interpretation

3.Establishment of Independent Constitution Conference
Commission

4.Qualification
for membership of the Commission

5.Guideline
for the Composition of the Commission

6.Composition of the Commission

7.Functions of the Commission

8. Oath by members

9.
Secretary to the Commission

10.
Allowances

11.
Drafting and Publication of Draft Constitutions (Federal and Regions)

12. Holding
of Plebiscite/Referendum

SCHEDULES

1.Proposed
18 Territorial Regions of the Federation of Nigeria and Constituent Nationalities
of the Regions and Map.

WHEREAS
the people of Nigeria are being governed in accordance with the provisions of
the Constitution of the Federal Republic
of Nigeria, 1999 (as Amended)

AND
WHEREAS the said Constitution came into existence as a result of a Decree 24
enacted by the then Federal Military Government

AND
WHEREAS following elections to the Office of President, Vice President and to
the Senate and House of Representatives for the Federation and to the Offices
of Governor, Deputy Governor and House of Assembly for each of the current 36
States comprising the Federal Republic, there developed a general clamour for
the establishment of an Independent Constitution Conference Commission (ICCC)
with full powers of laws to promote the POLICIES
and PROGRAMMES provided in this Actthat will enable the ethnic groupscomprised in the Nigeria country have the
golden opportunity to exercise their inherent right to determine democratically
for themselves the Constitutions by which they wish to be governed in one
united Nigeria as the supreme law ofthe
land binding on all organs of government and on all authorities and individuals
in the Nigeria country

AND
WHEREAS the National Assembly considers it necessary and expedient for the
peace, order and good government of Nigeria to delegate all its powers under
Sections 8 and 9 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) to the aforesaid
Commission to drive the fulfillment of the demand for the people’s
constitutions and hereby make provision to establish the aforesaid Commission

NOW,
THEREFORE, THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY HEREBY ENACTS AS FOLLOWS:

1. Short Title:

This Act may be cited as the INDEPENDENT CONSTITUTION CONFERENCE COMMISSION (ICCC) Act and shall
come into full force and effect on the date of its publication in the Official
Gazette.

2. Interpretation:

In this
Act, except where the context otherwise requires:

“Independent Constitution Conference
Commission” means the body of persons established in accordance with the
provisions of this Act.

“President”
Means President for the time being of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“Public
service of the Federation” or “public service of a State” has the meaning
assigned to those expressions in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria, 1999 (as Amended).

“Region”
or “Regions” refer to the territory or territories described as such in Schedules
1 of this Act.

“Zone” and cognate expressions
refer to any of the six geo-political groups of States (viz: - North Central,
North East, North West, South East, South-South and South West) mentioned in
Section 6 of this Act.

"INEC" refers to the body of persons
established by Federal Law to conduct Federal and some State elections

"BOUNDARY" and
cognate expressions refer to the International, State and Local Government
geo-political categories of the Nigeria nation-state.

3. Establishmentof
Commission:

(1) There
shall be for the purposes of this Act, the Independent Constitution Conference Commissionthat shall, subject to this Act, have full powers to
deliberate upon the processes and procedures for the convocation of the
Independent Nigerian Nationalities Constitutional Conferences as Constituent
Assemblies for purposes of providing new Constitutions for both the Federating
Territories and the Federal Republic of Nigeria as well as other matters relating
to the unity, welfare and good government of the country.

(2) The Independent
Constitution Conference Commission shall be convened by the President within 30
days after this Act comes into full force and effect.

4. Qualification for membership of the Commission

(1) Subject to
subsection (2) of this section, a person shall be qualified for nomination and selection
as a member of the Independent Constitution Conference Commission if he is of
sound and relevant knowledge and is a citizen of Nigeria and is not less than
eighteen years old.

(2) A person shall not be qualified for
membership of the Independent Constitution Conference Commission if-

(a)He
or is of unsound mind; or

(b)He
is bankrupt or makes a composition with his creditors; or

(c)He
is convicted of a felony or any offence involving dishonesty; or

(d)He
is found guilty of serious misconduct in relation to his public duties; or

(e) Nigeria Police Force or a member of the
public service of the Federation or of a State within the meaning of the
Constitution, or a member of the staff of any Local Government, unless he has
resigned his office not less than sixty days before his election.

5. Guideline for the
Composition of the Commission

(1) A person shall not be qualified to be
a member of the Commission if he is currently employed in the public service of
the Federation or in the public service of a State

(2) In the choice of a Commissioners
special attention shall be taken to ensure that as far as practicable, ethnic
groups or nationalities indigenous to the Zone and shades of political opinion
in the area for which he is a member are fairly represented and further that
the Commissioners include persons who by reason of their academic background,
experience in or knowledge of the affairs of the country or membership of
important interest groups can contribute meaningfully to the deliberations at
the Commission.

(3) A person shall not be chosen as a member
of the Commission or if appointed shall cease to be a member if any of the
events mentioned in subsection (2) of section 4 of this Act (which would
disqualify him as Chairman or member) occurs in relation to him.

(4)
Any vacancy occurring among members of the Commission shall be filled by
another person who is equally qualified from the same Zone in accordance with
the provisions of this Act.

6. Composition of the Commission

(1) For the purposes of this Act, there shall
be six Zones in Nigeria, that is to say, North Central, North East, North West,
South East, South-South and South West which shall each nominate, select and
appoint by consensus two persons per each of its component States listed in the
schedule annexed hereto as their accredited representatives at the Constitution
Conference Commission.

7. Functions of the
Commission:

BY
ORDER OF STRICT SEQUENCE:

(i) (a)To
arrange and supervise, through the National Boundaries Commission, the delineation of all the variously agreed Boundaries of
the Nigerian Federating Regions [as per, perhaps, PRONACO’s proposals on Regional grouping and Map vide Schedule 1
under Appendix 1 below] whose indigenes are culturally homogeneous,
geographically contiguous, humanly and materially resourceful and are ready to
demonstrate, through referenda/plebiscites, their willingness to cohabit; and
only thereafter, also:

(b)To arrange and conduct a referendum/plebiscite for each delineated Federating Region through which indigenous
voters can demonstrate, by at least 75% of votes cast at the referendum, of
their acceptance or rejection of their regional grouping from the present
thirty-six (36) States comprising the “Federal Republic of Nigeria”;

(c) To arrange and conduct the convocation ofNigeria
emergent Regional
Constitutional Constituent Assemblies to re-order and restructure their
respective components of Nigeria into democratic FEDERAL SYSTEMS and
produce relevant Drafts of their agreed Regional/Zonal Constitutions or Agenda
to the Commission who shall immediately arrange and conduct a referendum for
each of the Federating Regions in and through which their indigenous voters can
demonstrate, by at least 75% of votes cast at the referendum, of theiracceptance or rejection of their Regional/Zonal
Constitutions;

(d) To collate,
audit and harmonize the emergent different Regional Draft Constitutions
or Agenda and thereby propose a BILL to the
current National Assemblyfor an Act to make
provision for convening the INDEPENDENT NIGERIAN NATIONALITIES CONSTITUTIONAL CONFERENCE" (INNCC) with
full powers of territorial ownerships of their Regional lands in Nigeria for
the sole purpose of the Nigerian peoples deliberating and deciding at a Federal
Constitutional Constituent Assembly any and all contentious issues and matters
arising solely from the collated, audited and harmonized Regional Draft
Constitutions;

(e) Following from the outcomes of the "THE INDEPENDENT NIGERIAN NATIONALITIES
CONSTITUTIONAL CONFERENCE, to prepare a Draft Federal Constitution thereby for
consideration and adoptionor rejection by
the electorates of each Nationality Region of Nigeria at a referendum to be
conducted on the same date and time country-wide; and

(f) Finally and through the BILL and
eventual ACT establishing "THE INDPENDENT NIGERIAN NATIONALILITIES
CONSTITUTIONAL CONFERENCE", the Commission shall again arrange and conduct
separate but same-day referendum for each of the Federating Region that already
RATIFIED the Federal Draft Constitution to enable their eligible voters to also
re-RATIFY theirown (now likely to be
amended) respective Regional DRAFT Constitution or Agenda.

(ii)
Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Independent Constitution Conference
Commission shall have full powers for organizing and conducting the various
plebiscites and referenda at all levels as well as the elections of persons who
are to serve as delegates to either the Federal or Regional Constituent
Assemblies. For these purposes, the Commission shall have powers to employ the
existing machinery of the Independent National Electoral Commission for the
said plebiscites and referenda elections.

8. Oath by members:

Every member of the Independent
Nigerian Nationalities Constitutional Commission shall, before taking his seat
in the Commission, take and subscribe before the Commission, the oath of
allegiance which for the purposes of this section may be modified in such
manner as may be approved by the Chief Justice of Nigeria so however that any
member may instead of the oath make the appropriate affirmation as provided by
law.

9. Secretary to the Commission:

(1) There shall be a Secretary to the
Commission who shall be appointed by the President and who shall not be a
member of the Public Service of the Federation or of a State and who shall be
paid such remuneration and allowances as may be determined by the Revenue
Mobilization, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC).

(2)There shall also be appointed such number
of supporting staff as may be required to assist the Secretary in the
performance of his duties.

10.
Allowances:

There shall be paid to the Chairman, Deputy
Chairman and Members of the Conference Commission such allowances as the
Revenue Mobilization and Fiscal Commission may approve.

11. Drafting andPublication of the Draft
Constitutions:

(1) The Chairman and Secretary of the Commission shall, in
conjunction with the Chairman and Secretary of the National Conference, certify
the Draft Constitution as passed by the National Conference and lodge
authenticated copies thereof with the President of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria, the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
Representatives who shall cause it to be laid before the appropriate House.

(2) The Government Printer shall print or
cause to be printed sufficient copies of the Draft Constitution for sale at
cost to any member of the public who wishes to purchase the same.

12. Holding of
Plebiscite and Referenda:

(1)Acting through and
with the Independent Constitutional Conference Commission, the Independent
National Electoral Commission shall be responsible for organizing and
conducting the referendum and for giving the widest possible publicity to the
method for voting YES or NO.

(2)The persons entitled
to vote in the referendum shall be those whose names are on the Register of
Voters for purposes of election of members of the National Assembly.

(3)The ballot shall be
open and the Independent National Electoral Commission shall make regulations
for the purpose of ensuring the proper conduct thereof and that no person votes
more than once.

(4)The regulations made
pursuant to the provisions of this Section may impose penalties for
contravention.

(7)(5)All regulations
made as aforementioned shall be laid on the Table of the National Assembly and
published in the Federal Gazette.

Schedule
One: Proposed
18 Territorial Regions of the Federation of Nigeria and Constituent Nationalities
of the Regions and Map.

PROPOSED BY PRO-NATIONAL CONFERENCE
ORGANIZATIONS (PRONACO):

“Ethnographically
speaking, there are twelve (12) Mono-Nationality Regions (with varying
sub-nationalities) and six (6) Multi-Nationality Regions (also with varying
sub-nationalities) in Nigeria; and each Region shall have, for a true federal
system to exist, its own internal federal constitution. Therefore, the Federal
Union of Nigeria (FUN) shall be a Federation of Constituent Nationality
Constitutions, which, we strongly suggest, shall
be grouped as follows: -

The above suggestions are also virtually the
same proposal contained in the First Schedule (Parts One and Two) of the Draft
People’s Constitution for the Federal Republic of Nigeria submitted by The
People’s National Conference in August 2006.

According
to Movement for National Reformation, “The underlying principle of the
suggested structure is that all the Nationalities, regardless of size, are
autonomous federating units of equal value to the whole. In this spirit, the
divide between the Nationalities suggested to be regions in their own right and
those which are suggested should cooperate to form a Region, is to be clearly
established by nothing more than pragmatism, having regard to the tasks,
responsibilities and resources expected of a Region.

“A good Constitution must be designed to cope
with the dynamics of human relationships. It must have in-built shock
absorbers, since the aspirations of nationalities are not static. To guard
against our past experience of lurching from one constitutional crisis to
another, the design of the new Constitution must be flexible enough to
accommodate new aspirations of Nationalities and Regions without upsetting the
balance of the whole structure and prospects for stability.

“In the course of time, Nationalities starting
out as parts of a Region may wish to be Regions in their own right, having
become capable of so qualifying. The Constitution must allow for such
development. We have, therefore, included amongst the items suggested as likely
agenda for both the Federal and Regional levels of constitution-making the
topic concerning the criteria for the creation or recognition of a Region” –
such that the appropriate and acceptable federating
units are thosewhose indigenes
and settlers are culturally homogeneous; geographically contiguous; humanly and
materially resourceful; and are ready and willing to demonstrate -- through an
INEC conducted referendum or plebiscite if, in each case, necessitated by
border area ethno-centric demands, of simple majority of the agitators -- their
willingness to cohabit.

PRONACO
ETHNIC REGIONAL MAP OF NIGERIA

NIGERIA’S NATIONALITY LINGUISTIC MAP

Schedules 2:
THE SIX ZONES AND CONSTITUENT 36 STATES OF NIGERIA

ZONE

HEADQUARTERS

CONSTITUENT
STATES

(a)
NORTHCENTRAL

Jos

1.Kwara

2.Kogi

3.Plateau

4.Nasarawa

5.Benue

6.Niger

(b) NORTH EAST

Maiduguri

1.Borno

2.Yobe

3.Bauchi

4.Gombe

5.Taraba

6.Adamawa

(c) NORTH WEST

Kaduna

1.Sokoto

2.Zamfara

3.Kebbi

4.Kaduna

5.Katsina

6.Kano

7.Jigawa

(d) SOUTH EAST

Enugu

1.Anambra

2.Enugu

3.Ebonyi

4.Imo

5.Abia

(e) SOUTHSOUTH

Port-Harcourt

1.Edo

2.Delta

3.Rivers

4.Bayelsa

5.Cross River

6.Akwa Ibom

(f) SOUTH WEST

Ibadan

1.Lagos

2.Ogun

3.Oyo

4.Osun

5.Ondo

6.Ekiti

MAP OF 36 STATES OF NIGERIA

Schedule Three: Proceedings at Regional Constituent Assemblies

The Regions shall
exercise their freedom to determine the appropriate procedures and
processes/structures/modalities necessary for convening their own Constituent
Assemblies and the agenda for deliberations by their Conference Delegates.

Schedule Four: Referenda/Plebiscite Form of
Questions

Do
you think that the constitution proposed for Nigeria by the Federal
Constitution Conference is acceptable?

Green
Ballot Paper

for YES.

RedBallot Paper

for NO.

==========================================================

APPENDIX FOUR:

DRAFT OF

A BILL

FOR AN ACT TO MAKE PROVISION FOR CONVENING
AN INDEPENDENT
NATIONAL CONSTITUTIONAL CONFERENCE (INCC) FOR PURPOSES OF DISCUSSING
ISSUES AFFECTING THEM AND PREPARING A CONSTITUTION FOR CONSIDERATION AND
ADOPTION BY THE NATIONALITY PEOPLES OF NIGERIA AT REGIONAL or ZONAL or STATE
REFERENDA AND MATTERS ANCILLARY THERETO

WHEREASthe people of Nigeria are being
governed in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999.

AND
WHEREAS the said Constitution came into existence as a result of a Decree
enacted by the then Federal Military Government.

AND
WHEREASfollowing elections to the Office
of President, Vice President and to the Senate and House of Representatives for
the Federation and to the Office of Governor, Deputy Governor and House of
Assembly for each of the States there developed a general clamour for convening
a Conference of the ethnic Nationalities so as
to give them the opportunity to exercise their inherent right to determine
democratically for themselves the Constitution by which they wish to be
governed in one united Nigeria as the supreme law ofthe land binding on all organs of government
and on all authorities and individuals in the country.

AND
WHEREASthe National Assembly considers
it necessary and expedient for the peace, order and good government of Nigeria
to make provision to facilitate the convening of the aforesaid Conference.

NOW
THEREFORE the National Assembly hereby enacts as follows:

Short title 1. This Act may be cited as the Independent National Constitutional
Conference and Referendum Act and shall come into force on the date of its
publication in the Gazette.

Interpretation

2.In
this Act, except where the context otherwise requires:

“National Conference”
means the body of persons established in accordance with the provisions of this
Act.

“President” Means
President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“Public service of
the Federation” or “public service of a State” has the meaning assigned to
those expressions in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999

“State” or “States”
refer to the territory or territories described as such in Part 1 of the First
Schedule to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999

“Zone” and cognate
expressions refer to any of the six groups of States mentioned in section 3 of
this Act.

“Region” or
“Regions” refer to the territory or territories described as such in Schedules
1 of this Act.

The Six Zones

3.(1)For
the purposes of this Act, there shall be six Zones in Nigeria, that is to say,
North Central, North East, North West, South East, South-South and South West,
with Headquarters at Jos, Maiduguri, Kaduna, Enugu, Port-Harcourt and Ibadan
respectively.

(2)Each Zone of Nigeria shall comprise the group
of States shown in the Table in Schedule 1 to this Act

(3)Any
vacancy occurring among the delegates to the National Constitution Conference
shall be filled by election or selection organized and conducted by the
appropriate Regional Council in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

Establishment of
National Conference

4.
(1) There shall be for the purposes of
this Act, a National Conference that shall, subject to this Act, have full
powers to deliberate upon a Constitution for the Federal Republic of Nigeria as
well as other matters relating to the unity, welfare and good government of the
country.

(2) The National
Constitution Conference shall be convened by the President within 30 days after
this Act comes into force.

Composition of the
National Conference

5.The National Conference shall consist of members nominated, selected
and appointed from the Ethnic Nationalities listed in the schedule annexed
hereto represented by twenty (20) delegates each at the Conference.

Qualification for
membership of National Conference

6.
(1)Subject to subsection (2) of this
section, a person shall be qualified for nomination and selection as a member
of the National Conference if he is a highly knowledgeable citizen of Nigeria
and is not less than eighteen years old.

(2)A
person shall not be qualified for membership of the National Constitution Conference
if-

(a)He is of unsound mind; or

(b)He is bankrupt or makes a
composition with his creditors; or

(c)He is convicted of a felony or
any offence involving dishonesty; or

(d)He is found guilty of serious
misconduct in relation to his public duties; or

(e)He is a member of the Armed
Forces or the Nigeria Police Force or a member of the public service of the
Federation or of a State within the meaning of the Constitution, or a member of
the staff of any Local Government, unless he has resigned his office not less
than thirty days before his election.

Procedure at the
National Conference

7.Subject to this Act, the proceedings
of the National Conference shall be conducted in accordance with the Standing
Orders of the House of Representatives with such modifications as may be
approved by four-fifth majority of the delegates to the National Conference
and, subject to such modifications, the Standing Orders shall be deemed to be
the Standing Orders of the National Conference.

Decision, Quorum and
Voting at the National Conference

8.(a)Subject to the provisions of
this Act every member of the National Conference
shall have one vote within his or her delegation but totality of the delegation
votes shall count as a block vote of one in the deliberations of the Conference
on any issue requiring voting division of the Conference.

(b)For the purpose of sub
paragraph (a) of this

Section a Region/Zone/State shall be
deemed to have arrived at a decision by the votes of a simple majority of the
total number of delegates from that zone.

(c)The quorum of the National Conference
for the purpose of transacting any business other than adjournment shall be not
less than two-third of the entire membership.

Provided that no
proceedings of the National Conference shall be rendered invalid under this
section unless objection is raised by a member present other than the person
presiding that there are fewer members present at the meeting than the
prescribed quorum.

9.(a)The person presiding at a meeting
of the National Conference shall use his best endeavour to see that decisions
are arrived at by consensus among those present at the meeting.

(b)Upon failure to arrive at a
consensus, any question proposed for decision shall be regarded as not binding
on the Region(s) in default since the decision of the Conference must be by
consensus.

Oath by members

10.Every
member of the National Conference shall before taking his seat in the
Conference take and subscribe before the Conference, the oath of allegiance
which for the purposes of this section may be modified in such manner as may be
approved by the Chief Justice of Nigeria so however that any member may instead
of the oath make the appropriate affirmation as provided by law.

Secretary to the
Conference

11.(1) There shall be a Secretary to the
National Conference who shall be appointed by the Conference and who shall not
be a member of the Public Service of the Federation or of a State and who shall
be paid such remuneration and allowances as may be determined by the Revenue
Mobilization, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC)

(2)There shall also be appointed such number of supporting staff
as may be required to assist the Secretary in the performance of his duties.

Allowance

12.There shall be paid to the Chairman,
Deputy Chairman and Members of the National Conference such allowances as the
Revenue Mobilization and Fiscal Commission may approve.

Publication of Draft
Constitution

13.(1) The Chairman and Secretary of the
National Conference, in conjunction with their counterparts in the Independent
Constitution Conference Commission, shall cause the legal drafting of the new
Constitution and certify the Draft Constitution as passed by the National Conference
and lodge authenticated copies thereof with the President of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria, the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House
of Representatives who shall cause it to be laid before the appropriate House
only for their information and records.

(2)The Government Printer shall print or cause to be printed sufficient
copies of the Draft Constitution for sale at cost to any member of the public
who wishes to purchase the same.

Holding Referendum

14.(1) A
referendum shall be held on the question whether the Draft Constitution for the
Nigerian federation approved and passed by the National Conference is
acceptable to the people of Nigeria.

(2) The question to be asked
in each of the ‘federating unit’ referendum, and the ballot paper to be used
for that purpose shall be in the form set out in Schedule 3 to this Act;

But so that the YES
ballot papers shall be in GREEN colour whilst the NO ballot papers shall be in
RED.

(3) The Independent National
Electoral Commission shall be responsible for organizing and conducting the
referendum in each of Nigeria’s ‘federating unit’ and for giving the widest
possible publicity to the method for voting “YES” or “NO”.

(4)The persons entitled to vote in the
referendum shall be those whose names are on the Register of Voters for
purposes of election of members of the National Assembly.

(5) The ballot shall be open and
the Independent National Electoral Commission shall make regulations for the
purpose of ensuring the proper conduct thereof and that no person votes more
than once.

(6)The regulations made pursuant
to the provisions of this Section may
impose penalties for contravention.

(7) All regulations made as aforementioned
shall be laid on the Table of the National Assembly only for their information and
records and published in the Federal Gazette.

(8)Subject to the provisions of subsection 9 of
this section, the Bill for a Constitution for the Nigerian federation purposed
by the National Conference shall become law and be binding on all persons and
authorities when and if there is a majority of ‘Yes’ votes in favour of its
adoption by every and each of the Regions or States or Zones and it shall come
into force immediately whether before or after the expiration of the term of
office of the President, Vice President, the legislative Houses under the
present Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

(9)A majority of ‘Yes’ votes for
the purposes of this section means:

(a)Four-fifth majority of the votes cast at
each of the Regional or State or Zonal referendum

or

(b)A
simple majority of votes in each of not less than two thirds of votes cast in
each of the six Regions/Zones/States mentioned in section 3 of this Act.

Schedule
One: Proposed
18 Territorial Regions of the Federation of Nigeria and Constituent
Nationalities of the Regions and Map.

PROPOSED BY PRO-NATIONAL CONFERENCE
ORGANIZATIONS (PRONACO):

“Ethnographically
speaking, there are twelve (12) Mono-Nationality Regions (with varying
sub-nationalities) and six (6) Multi-Nationality Regions (also with varying
sub-nationalities) in Nigeria; and each Region shall have, for a true federal
system to exist, its own internal federal constitution. Therefore, the Federal
Union of Nigeria (FUN) shall be a Federation of Constituent Nationality
Constitutions, which, we strongly suggest, shall
be grouped as follows: -

The above suggestions are also virtually the
same proposal contained in the First Schedule (Parts One and Two) of the Draft
People’s Constitution for the Federal Republic of Nigeria submitted by The
People’s National Conference in August 2006.

According
to Movement for National Reformation, “The underlying principle of the
suggested structure is that all the Nationalities, regardless of size, are
autonomous federating units of equal value to the whole. In this spirit, the
divide between the Nationalities suggested to be regions in their own right and
those which are suggested should cooperate to form a Region, is to be clearly
established by nothing more than pragmatism, having regard to the tasks,
responsibilities and resources expected of a Region.

“A good Constitution must be designed to cope
with the dynamics of human relationships. It must have in-built shock
absorbers, since the aspirations of nationalities are not static. To guard
against our past experience of lurching from one constitutional crisis to
another, the design of the new Constitution must be flexible enough to
accommodate new aspirations of Nationalities and Regions without upsetting the
balance of the whole structure and prospects for stability.

“In the course of time, Nationalities starting
out as parts of a Region may wish to be Regions in their own right, having
become capable of so qualifying. The Constitution must allow for such
development. We have, therefore, included amongst the items suggested as likely
agenda for both the Federal and Regional levels of constitution-making the topic
concerning the criteria for the creation or recognition of a Region” – such
that the appropriate and acceptable federating
units are thosewhose indigenes
and settlers are culturally homogeneous; geographically contiguous; humanly and
materially resourceful; and are ready and willing to demonstrate -- through an
INEC conducted referendum or plebiscite if, in each case, necessitated by
border area ethno-centric demands, of simple majority of the agitators -- their
willingness to cohabit.

PRONACO
ETHNIC REGIONAL MAP OF NIGERIA

NIGERIA’S
NATIONALITY LINGUISTIC MAP

Schedules 2:
THE SIX ZONES AND CONSTITUENT 36 STATES OF NIGERIA

ZONE

HEADQUARTERS

CONSTITUENT
STATES

(a)
NORTHCENTRAL

Jos

1.Kwara

2.Kogi

3.Plateau

4.Nasarawa

5.Benue

6.Niger

(b) NORTH EAST

Maiduguri

1.Borno

2.Yobe

3.Bauchi

4.Gombe

5.Taraba

6.Adamawa

(c) NORTH WEST

Kaduna

1.Sokoto

2.Zamfara

3.Kebbi

4.Kaduna

5.Katsina

6.Kano

7.Jigawa

(d) SOUTH EAST

Enugu

1.Anambra

2.Enugu

3.Ebonyi

4.Imo

5.Abia

(e) SOUTHSOUTH

Port-Harcourt

1.Edo

2.Delta

3.Rivers

4.Bayelsa

5.Cross River

6.Akwa Ibom

(f) SOUTH WEST

Ibadan

1.Lagos

2.Ogun

3.Oyo

4.Osun

5.Ondo

6.Ekiti

MAP OF 36 STATES OF NIGERIA

Schedule Three: Referenda/Plebiscite Form of
Questions

Do
you think that the constitution proposed for Nigeria by the Federal
Constitution Conference is acceptable?

Kayode Ogundamisi is a commentator on
Nigerian and international affairs, he was involved in the Nigerian
pro-democracy struggle, Ogundamisi survived a trumped-up charge of treasonable
offence against the military government of General Babangida, he was detained
in Jos prison in 1991 and released after intensive local and international
campaigns against the government charging him and 12 other students before a
military tribunal. Ogundamisi was a frontline member of the National
Association of Nigerian Student and a former secretary general of the
University of Jos Students Union in Nigeria and the O'dua People’s
Congress.

Ogundamisi
currently shuttles between his base in The United Kingdom and his Country of
Birth Nigeria where he runs a programme on self-empowerment. He is the convener
of the Liberty Forum UK and his involved in engaging local communities and
community and social empowerment.

He graduated with
a B.SC in Political Science from University
of Jos. The Nigerian Institute of Journalism and a Master’s in Public
Administration from the Ogun State University and Masters in International
Relations from the London Metropolitan University. He is a volunteer
campaigns fellow for the German human rights group IMRV Bremen.

Ogundamisi was
appointed by the UK government as a board member of the United Kingdom
Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) a position he held for 3 years. Ogundamisi
is very active on the social media, with his commentary blog "The
Canary" under the twitter handle @ogundamisi and he writes sporadic
independent op-ed articles for major Nigerian media outlets.

Ogundamisi is the
host of the diaspora community socio political programme “PolitricsWithKO” on Europe’s
first ethnic oriented television Channel BEN-TV broadcasting on BSKYB 238 and
Startime Africa/Freeview Channel 244.

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Kayode Ogundamisi

Kayode Ogundamisi is a commentator on
Nigerian and international affairs, he was involved in the Nigerian
pro-democracy struggle, Ogundamisi survived a trumped-up charge of treasonable
offence against the military government of General Babangida, he was detained
in Jos prison in 1991 and released after intensive local and international
campaigns against the government charging him and 12 other students before a
military tribunal. Ogundamisi was a frontline member of the National
Association of Nigerian Student and a former secretary general of the
University of Jos Students Union in Nigeria and the O'dua People’s
Congress.

Ogundamisi
currently shuttles between his base in The United Kingdom and his Country of
Birth Nigeria where he runs a programme on self-empowerment. He is the convener
of the Liberty Forum UK and his involved in engaging local communities and
community and social empowerment.

He graduated with
a B.SC in Political Science from University
of Jos. The Nigerian Institute of Journalism and a Master’s in Public
Administration from the Ogun State University and Masters in International
Relations from the London Metropolitan University. He is a volunteer
campaigns fellow for the German human rights group IMRV Bremen.

Ogundamisi was
appointed by the UK government as a board member of the United Kingdom
Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) a position he held for 3 years. Ogundamisi
is very active on the social media, with his commentary blog "The
Canary" under the twitter handle @ogundamisi and he writes sporadic
independent op-ed articles for major Nigerian media outlets.

Ogundamisi is the
host of the diaspora community socio political programme “PolitricsWithKO” on Europe’s
first ethnic oriented television Channel BEN-TV broadcasting on BSKYB 238 and
Startime Africa/Freeview Channel 244.